Ali Abdullah Saleh, Yemen's longtime president, stepped down this year after more than a year of clashes between his supporters and opponents. His son Ahmed Ali Saleh is head of the Republican Guard.

Yemeni opposition figures had been calling for his dismissal for months.

The top ranks of the elite force fear that the new president, Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi, will sack them, particularly after Egypt's new president, Mohamed Morsy, pushed the country's top two military officers into retirement this weekend.

Hadi is in Saudi Arabia as the Organization of the Islamic Conference meets to discuss Syria and other regional issues.